Future proof alternatives to chocolate
05 Nov 2025 | Cargill
Today, nearly 75% of EU consumers say that sustainability influences their chocolate choices. But with cocoa becoming scarcer and more expensive, price remains a major barrier for consumers to buy more sustainable products.
That’s where NextCoa™ steps in – Cargill’s no cocoa confectionery alternative to chocolate. Developed in partnership with food tech company Voyage Foods, NextCoa ™ delivers the irresistible taste and sensory delight consumers crave – at a more competitive cost than chocolate.
And it’s not just delicious – it’s revolutionary. NextCoa™ reduces carbon footprint by up to 67%, uses 90% less land, and consumes 95% less water in comparison to chocolate. Crafted from beloved plant-based ingredients like grape seeds and sunflower, it’s label-friendly!
Hello and welcome everyone.
It's my pleasure to be your moderator today.
My name is Missy Green.
I serve as editor for the World of Food Ingredients, Print and Digital Journal, which is a platform of CNS Media.
Today we will be exploring a promising new new toolkit in the conversation about the future of indulgence.
So whether you're tuning in from your office or your innovation lab, today's session explores how sustainability is becoming more accessible and how that shift could transform indulgent traits for generations to come.
Over the next hour, I'll be speaking with an expert panel from Cargill about NextCA, a next generation confectionery alternative to chocolate that contains no cocoa.
Developed through a collaboration between the global food innovator Cargill and the food tech pioneer Voyage Foods, Nexoa is made from revalorized grape and sunflower seeds.
It's positioned as a more sustainable alternative that seeks to deliver indulgence while responding to evolving market and environmental trends.
We want this webinar to be interactive, so feel free to share your questions in the chat box.
We'll address as many as we can during the Q&A at the end.
Let's start with a video that sets the scene and presents this innovation from Cargill.
Chocolate, loved deeply.
Yet as the world shifts.
How do we keep this indulgence for everyone?
We evolve, facing change head on.
Opening up a world of opportunities through bold moves and shared vision.
Next COA is how we lead change.
A confectionary alternative to chocolate, crafted without cocoa.
A proud leap forward to complement our portfolio.
More sustainable, more affordable, just as irresistible.
A confident answer to the growing call for smarter choices for the planet.
Ready to scale and built for impact.
Launching something new, rethinking something love?
Let's shape what's next.
Together, Next CA.
More sustainable becomes more affordable.
To start this webinar, I would like to ask my very first question to you, Ben Giu.
So, what exactly is NETCOA?
Thank you, Missy.
Hi, everyone.
I'm Beng Suaraki, product line manager and commercial lead at Cargill.
First of all, it's a pleasure to be here today with you to introduce a true game changer in the world of indulgence.
Next, Goa, our confectionary alternative to chocolate made with no cocoa but instead made with rivalized grape and sunflower seeds.
Let's begin with a simple truth.
Based on our own research, 76% of consumers want to buy more sustainable chocolate or cocoa-based products, but they're not sure how to go about it.
However, there's actually a gap between intention and action.
Price remains a major barrier to turn those sustainability intentions into actual purchases for more than half of the EU consumer.
Together with this, when we look at that cocoa becoming more expensive and more volatile, it's becoming harder for consumers to access more sustainable indulgence.
So this is a real consumer pain point and we took it quite seriously.
At Cargill, our purpose is to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way, and that means helping our customers address the challenges their consumers face.
When we saw this unmet need, we didn't just acknowledge, but we wanted to act on it.
So we saw it as our responsibility to support our partners in solving this issue.
We ask ourselves, what can we uniquely bring to the table to make more sustainable indulgence truly accessible.
And for Cargill, that starts with scale.
Cargill's global sourcing capabilities for a wide spectrum of farm ingredients and size screams in combination with our operational footprint in over 70 countries can definitely bring scale to sustainable indulgence.
Beyond scale, we also bring actually our customers' trust manifested through 160 years of partnership with the world's leading food manufacturers.
We are deeply embedded in the industry.
And committed to bring meaningful change.
And finally, we bring deep expertise across a broad range of ingredients combined with deep understanding of how these components interact at the application level for the foods that consumers enjoy every single day.
So we decided to bring Nextcoa to life.
To do that, we knew we needed a partner, who would share the vision that we have with bold, innovative, and purpose-driven.
That's when Voyage Foods came in, food food tech company with a powerful mission to futureproof foods with uncertain features.
So, Voyage Foods brings patented technology, a disruptive mindset, and relentless focus on innovation.
They are decoupling foods from its traditional source, creating new alternatives to the food and the drinks we love, in ways that are even more sustainable, scalable and cost-effective.
These new alternatives are comparable in taste and industrial application to their traditional counterparts.
So, in 2024, we formalized our partnership, and today, Cargill is proud to be the exclusive global partner to bring this innovation to the market.
What Food's confectionery alternative to chocolate made with no cocoa.
And we named our solution as NextCOA, as it represents a portfolio adjacent to our core cocoa and chocolate business, and also because Nextcoa gives this idea of addressing the needs of the next generation.
Together with Voyage Foods.
We're actually not just launching a product, but this is building a movement, that indulgence is more sustainable, more resilient, and more importantly, more accessible for all.
Wow, that's inspiring.
Could you tell us a little bit more about the solution?
How does it taste and how is it more sustainable?
My colleague Steven and Clement will actually elaborate more on the sustainability and the sensory parts, but I will keep it simple, it is delicious because that's actually the bottom line, right, so we care a lot.
About the sensory profile that the, the experience that Nextco delivers.
We are continuously refining our sensory profile for our range to ensure that it delivers the delight at every bite.
And as our portfolio keeps expanding, we are focusing on developing recipes that Perform consistently across all relevant applications like from biscuits to chocolate confectionery, to cereals, ice creams, and many more.
Actually, just yesterday we tasted a digestive biscuit and coated with Nexoa and it really tasted , because the Ncoa is also like processed on the industry standard manufacturing lines, which behaves similar to chocolate, which actually makes it quite easier to apply on different applications.
It's highly versatile, so it's easy to process and delivers good performance across so many different consumer and products.
When it comes to sustainability, NexCOA is a game changer.
Compared to chocolate, it reduces carbon footprint by up to 67%, has 90% less land-related impacts, and consumes 95% less water.
That's a massive leap forward.
So, you see, it's really about making more sustainable indulgence accessible.
Could you talk more concretely about how it becomes cost effective?
Sure.
Next, cola is tangibly more cost-effective than chocolates, and we are not just talking about smaller savings.
Based on the current market prices, the difference is a significant percentage saving.
We are happy to support our customers with tailored cost comparisons based on their specific recipes and formulations.
What's actually more is that Nexoa is made from more cost stable ingredients, which means it's less exposed to market fluctuations.
This adds a layer of price stability that's increasingly becoming more valuable in today's uncertain supply landscape.
So, what are those more cost stable ingredients that Nextcoa is made with?
Next, Koa is made from ingredients that consumers bought, recognize, and perceive positively.
It's just made from familiar plant-based components that align today's expectations for simple and familiar foods.
So Nkoa is crafted from a revelarized grape seed and sunflower seeds, making it not only clean label actually, but also it's a smart way of using agricultural side streams.
So it's a win for both sustainability and transparency.
Again, we have conducted extensive consumer research on this topic.
In fact, in Cargill, we run an annual study called Ingredient Tracker where we measure consumer familiarity, health perception, and the impact on purchase intent across a wide range of ingredients.
Both sunflower kernels and grape seeds perform exceptionally when it comes to familiarity addressing the consumer's needs for, like, ingredients, they recognize, things that they might, you know, find in their own kitchen cupboard, but as as the familiarity, these ingredients also rank equally high when it comes to the ability to drive purchase intent.
And the process.
So that process is also very straightforward.
As Adam Maxwell, the founder of Voyage Foods, likes to say, the science is in the lab, not in the factory.
So, and which is true.
This means that production process is similar to the one of chocolate, with some adjustments to customize the final flavor, and it's a -known process, just a familiar scalable approach that resonates with conscious consumers.
I'm telling you, the list of benefits, is endless, so we can't wait to engage with our customers on this journey, and actually we are already in contact with quite a few of them, so stay tuned.
We'll definitely stay tuned.
Now, I believe you have an exciting announcement to share about the production location.
Is that right?
Yes, this is very exciting.
We are proud to announce that we will be producing NOA, not only in Ohio, United States, but also in Deventer in the Netherlands.
This is a major milestone in bringing this innovation to European markets, and thanks to our agile production model, we offer Nexco both in liquid and solid formats, which unlocks actually a wide range of applications at our customers' manufacturing locations.
We've just seen how NextCOA addresses multiple fronts to the challenges of cocoa supply chain.
There's the sensory experience, the cost effectiveness, price stability, and reduced emissions, but one of Mexico's defining pillars is its transparency and reliability, especially when it comes to sustainability.
And to help us dive deeper into that, I'm pleased to hand it over to someone who truly lives and breathes sustainability, Steven Manley.
Steven, we're really glad to have you with us today.
Could you start by telling us a little bit about your background and what drives your work in sustainability?
Yeah, thank you, Missy.
Let me start by saying it's great to be here and to see sustainability as a cornerstone of the conversation.
My name is Stephen Manley, and for the past 15 years I have focused my efforts at the intersection of sustainability, innovation, and data.
So really bringing environmental modeling into actionable strategy.
At Cargill, I deliver this by applying life cycle assessments across our product offerings.
So I am essentially an environmental accountant, helping companies understand and translate the quantitative environmental impacts of their products and operations into sustainability strategy.
This is challenging and it requires deep expertise.
And this is where my passions lie in turning often complex environmental data into clear, -informed, actionable insights.
So it's late 2025 now, and in today's landscape, sustainability isn't just a nice to have, it's a responsibility met with the increasingly advancement of regulatory compliance and accounting guidance.
Said simply, our sustainability communications need to be backed by science, not slogans.
So whilst I have this platform, I will take the opportunity to elaborate on the background context of sustainability claims.
Sustainability has become a powerful driver of consumer choice, corporate strategy and brand reputation, but with this growing demand for sustainability insights, comes a growing risk that we should all be aware of, and that is environmental claims that are not either credible or reliable.
This is greenwashing, when companies either knowingly.
Or without bad intention, make misleading or even simply unfounded claims about the environmental benefits of their products or practices.
And again, in 2025, this is not just a marketing misstep, it's a trust breaker.
And to highlight this, the European Commission recently assessed that over 53% of green claims made by the companies on the marketplace were found to give vague, misleading, or unfounded information.
And 40% offered no supportive evidence for their claims at all.
Now that's a serious credibility gap.
Today, consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical.
So to counter this proliferation of poor quality green claims, regulators are now stepping in.
And this simply means brands that fail to back up their sustainability claims risk not only reputational damage, but also legal consequences, with legislation like the proposed EU Green Claims Directive purposefully designed to crack down on vague, unsubstantiated environmental messaging.
Our life cycle assessment is fully aligned with overarching international and EU requirements.
We can ensure that the results we provide are robust and we do this through firstly our transparency.
RLCA is independently panel reviewed for both ISO 14,040 and 1944 compliance, and this represents the recommended and highest level of verification available on the international stage.
So not only is the science verified, it's also publicly accessible with full transparency on data sources, methodology and assumptions used.
And secondly, we do it through our rigor.
We employ the European Commission's recommended product environmental footprint impact assessment methodology.
Simply put, this is a suite of 16 environmental models that build a complete picture of the environmental profile of our products across 16 different impact categories, such as water use and land use impact, so to provide a truly holistic view of the sustainability of the product going beyond carbon footprint alone.
And these points are critical for making product level sustainability statements in the public sphere.
Whilst we see unfounded claims on the market, for us, doing the right thing is a non-negotiable.
We want our customers to have complete peace of mind when making sustainability related claims, and that starts with credible science backed data.
And for the reduction numbers that were just on your screens to ensure a fair and transparent benchmarking, we compare against a virtually created market representative average chocolate recipe, because we know not all chocolate is created equally, so we won't compare to the lowest performing one.
Recipes change, and to this point, we're also making it easier for our customers to engage with their scope 3 emissions, which is often the most complex part of sustainability reporting.
And we're doing this through our in-house expertise, where we're creating a user friendly tool which will soon be available to assess those specific recipes of our customers.
Are there side benefits that come with this rigorous approach?
So beyond the environmental benefits, sustainability also encompasses economic considerations.
There is a notion that sustainability costs, and that is largely true for decarbonisation efforts.
So to change the ways we operate across our supply chains and our manufacturing processes can be an expensive endeavor.
One way to tackle this is through green procurement, so to structurally change the purchases of ingredients into your company that offer a lower carbon footprint.
More and more companies are integrating sustainability into their purchasing decisions, not just for compliance, but as a strategic lever.
Green procurement means choosing suppliers and products that meet verified environmental standards, reduce scope 3 emissions and align with corporate climate goals.
Reducing company level CO2 emissions often involves the purchase of insets or even offset credits from regulated carbon markets, which can be expensive.
NextCop affords the possibility to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the value chain whilst avoiding these costs and tackling important regulatory movements like deforestation free production.
So, by offering transparent, third party verified RCA data and aligning with the EU standards, we make it easier for our customers to meet their sustainability targets.
And with our upcoming tool to help track scope 3 emissions at the recipe level, we're simplifying one of the most complex parts of sustainable sourcing.
In short, choosing Nextcoa isn't just good for the planet, it's good for business, and it's a smarter, more responsible way to buy.
Thank you, Steven.
So, as we've seen, sustainability is a critical part of NextCo's value proposition, and it's not the only one.
So, there's also the sensory aspect.
Because ultimately, what matters to consumers is how it tastes, feels and satisfies.
So, to discuss this in more detail, I'm pleased to welcome our next speaker, Claimants Leoar, who is Car Yield's user and product experience designer and sensory scientist.
Claimants, could you start by introducing yourself?
Thank you, Missy.
Hi everyone.
I'm very happy to be here today.
My name is Clement Lootard and I specialize in sensory science and consumer experience.
Over the past 15 years, I have helped brands translate sensory data into meaningful product experiences.
I focus on understanding how consumers perceive taste, texture, aroma, and their emotional responses to products and how we can use that insight to craft indulgent, memorable products.
I'm passionate about bridging the gap between science and sensation, because when it comes to indulgence, it's not just about the ingredient, it is about how every bite feels, tastes, connects with the consumer.
So, how do you concretely work to ensure Nexacoa offers a delightful and craveable experience?
Our extensive research has shown us that sensory is the first reason for consumers to buy a product again.
About 80% of consumers are buying a product because of its sensory appeal through smell, flavor, or texture.
So clearly there is no room for failure here.
That's the reason why we have made significant investment in Cargill Heartbeat, our exclusive sensory intelligence program powered by advanced sensometric methods.
Cargill Heartbeat approaches product development through the eyes of consumers.
It compares real market offerings with new innovation and prototypes to predict which products resonate best with consumer persona.
Because when it comes to indulgence, there is no one size fits all.
This method allows us to capture and understand the sensory world of a category in a fast, reliable, and data-driven way.
It all begins with the objective product descriptions from our experts on 3 panels.
For example, when evaluating next score, our panel identified a texture that qualified a smooth texture with notes like roasted notes, caramel, and cocoa notes, which is remarkable, you may notice, despite the product not containing any cocoa.
When we complement this data through consumer sensory research, we are assessing our, how our recipes perform against established market products.
With this data together we were able to refine and strengthen our formulations until they crossed a critical threshold, giving us the confidence that the recipe not only meets expectation but truly delights.
So today we are extremely proud to introduce our improved and expanded range, a portfolio designed not only to meet expectations but to truly delight consumers across different taste preferences.
This range is really the result of a strong collaboration between Voyage Foods and Cargill, leveraging deep sensory research and consumer tasting, and we know for a fact that this range resonates.
It includes 4 distinct recipes an intense recipe, a bold vegan alternative to dark chocolate, delivering depth and richness, a dark, mild recipe which is a unique blend, vegan blend that combines the best of dark and milk chocolate sensory profile for a balanced, satisfying experience.
A dairy mild recipe, a smooth dairy-based alternative to milk chocolate crafted for milk chocolate lovers, and a mild recipe, a gentle vegan alternative to milk chocolate, offering creamy indulgence without compromise.
Each recipe has been carefully refined to cross the threshold of delight by leveraging advanced statistical modeling and predictive analysis tools, because indulgence should be inclusive and sensory pleasure should never be compromised.
So this is how we are co-creating with our customers to craft the next bestsellers that consumers will love and come back to again and again.
Thank you very much, Claimant.
That's impressive how this one solution can address cost effectiveness, sustainability, and consumer delight.
And with that, we've reached the end of our presentation.
You can now download the next COA fact sheet directly from the handout section on the screen, and if you're watching the on-demand version, just reach out to us and we'll be happy to share it with you.
Let's look at our first question.
I think this one is for you, Ben Giu.
How to communicate the solution to end consumers?
Thanks, Missy.
Indeed that's a really good question, because we understand that non-cocoa alternatives to chocolates are new, on the market.
That's why like we have made significant investments in understanding what truly drives, consumer.
Intent from the claims customers and consumers see on the front of pack, to the way products are described on shelves or online.
Every detail actually matters and we are here to help our customers unlock the full potential of Next Co op.
We are happy to run dedicated workshops with our customers to see, and reveal what, we've learned, from our extensive research and brainstorm together actually how to apply those learnings on their specific brands because When you combine the right ingredients with the right message, you don't just create a product, but actually you create a connection with the consumers.
So it is very important to position and talk about the product that resonates with the consumers.
The next question is for Steven.
So, what does this new offering reveal about Car Yield's commitment to traditional cocoa?
That is a great question, Miss Long.
At Cargill, we deeply respect the cocoa industry and its farmers.
Having partnered with them for decades, we know firsthand the value that they bring to our sector.
That's why when we talk about Cocoa alternatives, it's not about replacing Cocoa at all.
It's about supplementing the existing industry and offering a new choice for those seeking something different, whether out of curiosity, cost considerations or environmental concerns.
In fact, by introducing noncoa alternative options, we are making the traditional cocoa sector more sustainable and resilient by diversifying the market and easing pressure on cocoa supply chains, which are often under strain from an ever increasing demand.
This kind of innovation doesn't compete with cocoa, it complements it.
Of course, chocolate remains a cornerstone of our offering, and we invite our customers to join us, shaping a more sustainable future for the traditional cocoa sector.
Also, where we are active in setting the sector's greenhouse gas accounting standards and a first mover in detailed geospatial data driven for land use change assessments.
So through our Cargo Cocoa promise, we are committed to helping farmers for the social sides of sustainability to and their communities to achieve better incomes and living standards whilst growing cocoa in a more environmentally sustainable way.
Thank you, Steven.
The next question is about taste.
Do consumers expect a no cocoa alternative to taste the same as chocolate?
Claimants, would you like to take this one?
Very interesting question.
Yes, confectionary alternatives with no cocoa are really bringing a new sensory space in the field of indulgence.
You have to imagine them expanding the horizon rather than being compared directly to chocolate.
It is a question that we also ask consumers directly and what we have seen is that 53% of consumers are expecting a new sensorial experience from no cocoa alternative products.
This research has also outlined that consumers cluster that preferred a sweet experience in chocolates are more drawn to a no coco confectionary alternatives compared to those who prefer a high bitter cocoa type of chocolates.
It also all depends on the application in the end, and we can definitely create a similar sensory experience, with consumers and for consumers.
OK, last question.
When replacing chocolate with Nexoa, does that mean that the end consumer product cannot be labeled as chocolate?
Bengisu.
Yeah, very good question.
It cannot be labeled as chocolate, but for example, chocolate coating, is a possibility.
Thanks to a unique process developed by Cargill, and there are indeed ways to retain the word chocolate on packaging when using Nexcoa.
Maybe it's good to walk through an example using a digestive biscuit.
For example, if you coat, the digestive biscuit with chocolate, then typically the product is labeled as a chocolate coated digestive.
When replacing chocolate with Nexoa using the standard process, customers have several naming options, but one possibility could be a digestive biscuit coated in confectionery alternative to chocolate.
There are other options too, and it's totally up to our customers to decide what will fit best with their brand or the market.
When replacing chocolate, Buy Nexcoa, using the chocolate claim production process, one of the options our customers can choose from is digestive biscuit with chocolate coating.
So, you see, Cargill's innovative process allows brands to maintain the word chocolate on their packaging when switching to Nexa.
OK.
Thank you all for joining us today.
We hope you found the session insightful and inspiring as we explored new possibilities with Cargill's NO solution.
If you'd like to speak more with Cargill's experts face to face, you can visit their stand at ISM taking place in Cologne, Germany, early next year.
If you haven't yet, please feel free to reach out to your Cargill representative, whether it's to dive deeper into today's topics or explore collaboration opportunities.
Or simply ask a question that didn't, we didn't get to in this session.
But thanks again for joining us.
We're excited about what the future holds and excited to shape it together.
Product Line Manager & Commercial Leader, Cargill
Sensory Consumer Experience Designer for Indulgence, Cargill
Senior Lifecycle Analyst - Global Impact Team, Cargill
Bengisu Corakci
Product Line Manager & Commercial Leader, Cargill
Clémence Léotard
Sensory Consumer Experience Designer for Indulgence, Cargill
Dr. Steven Mandley
Senior Lifecycle Analyst - Global Impact Team, Cargill
Missy Green
Editor, CNS Media
Missy Green
Editor, CNS Media
Bengisu Corakci
Product Line Manager & Commercial Leader, Cargill
Clémence Léotard
Sensory Consumer Experience Designer for Indulgence, Cargill
Dr. Steven Mandley
Senior Lifecycle Analyst - Global Impact Team, Cargill
Missy Green
Editor, CNS Media
